Feed water regulator



y 1932- I v. v. VEENSCHOTEN 1,859,544

FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Dec. 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F5 1 9 i V fA/VENTOR:

Vhcen/ M Veenficbo/en May 24, 1932. 'v. v.. VEENSCHOTEN 9, FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Dec. 5. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor:

7/12: cent 2/ Z/eenschoi'en may.

Patented May 24, 1932 MEN T GOhIiPAN-JY', .OF 'ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA FEED WATER REGULATOR Application filed December 5, 1929. Serial 110,411,803. 7

necessary stresses onthe apparatus. Another object of the invention is toprovide means for quickly and conveniently installing the regulator and for dismounting it when desired. Other objectswill be apparent from a consideration of the accompanying: drawings and the following-description thereof-z Of the drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevation of a feed water regulatorsystem' which embodies the features of my invention; Fig; 2 is a plan view of the regulator system; Fig. 3is an'en-' larged sectional view along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 1 isan elevation of somewhat modified means for mounting the regulator;-

Fig; 5" is an elevation of a modifiedform of regulator system; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same; and Fig. 7 isan enlarged vlew of the'means for connecting the regulator to its support.

Inthis instance, I have shown theregulator' 9 associated with a boiler 10. The regulator is designed tomaintain thewater level elevation in the boiler within certain limits, the average or normal water level beingsubstan;

tially' at the same elevation as the central portion of the regulator. The thermostat it'- self comprises a V-shaped or U-shaped'tube; or, as is indicated, it may comprise the-two tubes and 16 suitably connected, by means of a coupling head 17 ,or otherwise, so that the tubesfreely communicate with each other.

The coupling 17 is fixed in position, as

hereinafter described, and the free ends of the tubes are connectedrespectively' to the water space and the steam space of the boiler, by means of pipes 18 and 19, so that water,

stands in the tubes at about the sameyelevation as in the boiler, and it rises and sinks in the tubes in accordance with the changes 11'1- water level in the boiler. The free-ends'of the thermostat are operativelyconnected with the feedwater valve 20; so that, as'the water level in the tubes sinks andthetubesexpand'more, the valve will be opened more, in order to allow more'water to pass into'the boiler. Or, as the water rises in-the tubes, the reverse operation will occur; r

v The means connecting the thermostat with the tubes comprises a system of -leversj The; free end of the tube 15 is-connectedto a bell crank lever 21,having'it's fulcrum 22mountedin the frame 23, whichsupports the. ther mostat. The outer end ofthe l'ever21is con:- nected by-alink 24 to a lever 25. Thelever 25 has its fulcrum 26 in the outer end-ofa' bell. crank lever 27 which ispivot'ed to the frame at the point-'28. The lever27isalsopivotedto thefree end of the tube'16. A consideration of this leverage will show that, whenever either of the tubes decreases in length, the lever 25,: by means of'tlielink' 29, will elevate thelever 30 which, in turn, will close more the valve 20. And, when either of the tubes expands, the weight 31 will be allowed to lower the lever 30 and" open more, thevalve.

As is well understood, thermostatic regulators of thisnature arerequired' to liavefa leveragesufiicient to move the valve a far. greater distance than the variation in length of the thermostat tubes, owingjtolthe'varia tion in temperature. A 'leverageof twenty to one or more is common, and-a much greater leverage than this is usually req'uiredto operate the weight: 31. As a consequence, enormous forces act on, the operating. means and, if the arrangement issuch that the: frame or" leverage can yield 'under stresses, the effect of the expansion or contraction of the tubes is materially decreased and willfbe entirely negligible if the variation in water level 'in'the. tube is not very material;

PATENT OFFME;

V VINCENT V. VEENSCHOTEN,.OE ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR' T0 NORTHERN'EQUILE'H I One of the objects of this inventionisto'ar range the relative'parts ofthe apparatus so as.

to eliminate all strains owingvrto y oi the i variation in-waterlevelmay I a y V ;-..m10o

In order to avoid any efiects of loose play, it is common with feed water regulators of this nature to operate the valve by means of a weight, such as the weight 31. As a consequence of this arrangement, it is necessary for the operating means to exert forces far greater than wouldbe necessary merely to Y of compression. The

move the feed water valve plunger in its casing. The weight must be sufficiently massive to operate the valve when allowed to do so, and to h'ave a large margin of force to overcome any abnormal sticking. As a consequence, the leverage must overcome much more than twice as much resistance as if the valve alone were moved. Hence, enormousv forces act on the system, it being well understood that, when a metal expands, it will exert sufiicient force for this purpose.

I have, therefore, provided a frame 23 on which no material forces act, except the forces frame comprises a V- shaped member 23 on each side of the tubes, with the arms of the frames substantially paralleling the respective tubes 15 and 1,6.

The frames are connected at the apex by the the tubes contract or expand, there are no' lateral stresses in any way acting on the frame, and no possibility of yielding of the frame or of the tubes, except by compression of the frame or stretching of the tubes and, obviously, the size of both the frame and the tubesmay be sufiicient to avoid any possibility of either of such effects.

Also, theleverage system is similarly arranged. The bell crank levers 21 and 27 have arms 40 extending each side of'the coupling members 41 which connect the thermostatic tubes with the lever, so that all lateral stresses are removed from those elements.

Also,'arms 42 extend from the bell crank lever 21 each side of the link 24; while the bell crank lever 27 projects between the two arms of the lever 25, and the lever 25 and the link '29 are connected by a head 43, positioned between the outer ends of the two arms of the lever 25.

It will thus be seen that there is no possibility of any material lateral stresses either on the tubes themselves or the frame supporting the tubes or the leverage connecting the tubes with the valve.

V A feature of the stabilizingof the system,

so as to avoid any strains, is the method of connecting the two ends of the arms of the frame work. The member 38 which connects the two branches of the upper arm, when the system is installed, is firmly clamped, by means of the U-shaped bolts 45, to a pipe 46. In this instance, the pipe is the feed-water pipe of the boiler and preferably so, as the valve 20 is mounted in the same pipe and this insures complete rigidity between the frame and the valve itself. Also, the lower branches are connected by the member 39 which is clamped to the same pipe, by means of a U- shaped bolt 47 So that the two outer ends of the arms are rigidly connected, by means of the pipe 46, and this assists in preventing any possibility of undesirable strains iii-the frame work. At the same time, the two arms of each of the side members of the frame are connected, by means of a web 48, thefweb extending so far as may be desired towards the outer ends of the arms.

In mounting or installing a system of this nature properly, in connection with theboiler. and the feed water valve thereof, much difficulty is often encountered in finding a suit able location for mounting the regulator, and also in properly connecting it up with the supporting means. But, by the method indicated for supporting and mounting the regulator as hereinabove described, the regulator may be very quickly and conveniently installed, as it is necessary only to connectv it, to the feed water pipe, as indicated,and then connect up the pipes 18 and 19 leading to the boiler. As there'is always a feed water pipe available, and as the exact direction in which the frame projects from, the pipe is not very material, the installation may- USU. ally be very quickly andiconveniently made. In Fig. 4, I illustrate means for mounting the regulator to a support 50.which is fixed to the feed water pipe 51 when the pipeis horizontal. In this case, the frame work is fixed to the pipe 50 in the same manneras is indicated in Fig. 1, but the pipe 50 is connected to the feed pipe 51 by means of the block- 52 and bolts'53. In this case, the rest of the system is substantially the same as is hereinabove described, but variations well understood by those skilled in the art may be'made for properly connecting the thermostatic tubeswith the valve.

Fig. 5 illustrates some modifications and additions of the feed. water regulator, most of which, however, are equally applicable to the structure shown in Fig. 1. This modification is somewhat more compact as the floating lever 60 proj ects backwardly under the thermostatic tubes and is connected to the feed water valve. 61, so that the upward pull on this valve falls-beneath the supporting frame work of the tubes, In orderto more definitely describe theinvention and, particularly, to Show the enormous stresseswhich need to be overcome, the structural its-59,5 34

drawingjof Fig. 5 isdrawnto. scale. Ittisnotthoughtnecessary to give the actual dimensions. butv they can bero-ughly determined by: a. consideration: of the fact that the. up.-

, right pipe 62, whichsupports the frame, has an external diameter of 2.375 inches, and it.

will be seen that the total'l'everage of the system is in the neighborhood of on'eto twenty.

In order: to assist in mounted in a: horizontal line and preferably at anelevation similar to the average or nor-- cock across thesenotches, and the frame is thus positioned accurately.

Also, to assist in properly adjusting the Various'levers, I provide in the link which connectsthe-levers of the two tubes 6'8 and 6'?" Obviously, by adjusting a turn-buckle 68.

thisturn-buckle, the most eiiicient relative position of the levers will be arrived at.

'I liist urn-buckle also assists in varying'the magnitude of the opening of the feed water valve 61 with reference to the-length of the thermostatic tubes. Inasmuch as the arrangement of the various parts of this modified structure of Fig. 5'is obvious from the description of the other structure, it is not thought necessary to add further description here.

It is sometimes desired to throw the feedwater regulator out of service in a simple manner, and this I provide for by means of an arm 70, having a head 71 which is rotatably mounted on the bolt 72 which connects the ends of the tubes to the frame. This head is adapted to coact with the washer 73 nonrotatably mounted on the same bolt. In this washer and in the head are projecting portions 74 and 75 and recesses 76 and 77. When the arm 7 O is in the position shown, the apparatus is in operative condition. But, if the arm is rotated through 90, the projections will enter the recesses and allow the bolt 72 to move inwardly a suficient distance to entirely offset the maximum change in length of the tubes as they are heated or cooled.

It will be understood that the connections of the tubes to the boiler are of sufficient length and arranged properly to allow the pipes to yield sufficiently as the tubes contract and expand, and also to allow the weight 78 to fully open the valve when the arm 70 is rotated to render the system inoperative.

I claim as my invention:

1. A boiler system comprising a feed water pipe, a feed water valve mounted in said pipe, a frame comprising two similar spaced V shaped members, means rigidly connecting the apexes of the members together, means properly installing I theregulator, I provide indicating notches 6-3 and 64:. in the frame work, which are rigidly connecting the ends of'the branches ofthe. members with said pipe, a thermostatic feed. water regulator mounted: between said members,.one.endiof'said regulator being. connected: to-said frame, and means operatively connecting the other end: of said-regulator withsaidivalve-and with said frame.

2.v A boiler systemas claimed: in claim 1 in which said connecting means comprisea. lever havingits fulcrum fixed to saidframe, and having one arm pivotally connected with said'regul'ator, and the other arm operatively-connected with said valve; 7

3. A boiler system as claimed in claim 1,

vin which said regulator comprisesa V- shaped tube having its apex fixed to the means connecting the apexesof said frame, the arms of said tube mounted between the arms of said V-shaped members, and being substantially paralleltherewith.

4: A boiler system comprising a boiler, a feed'water valve and a feed water regulator for cont-rolling the-flow of water to theboiler though said valve in accordance with the water level elevation in theboiler, said regulator comprising a V shaped-tube with one branch higher than the other, communicating means connecting the ends of the branches with the boiler, operating, means connecting v each ofsaid ends'withsaid valve, said means comprising a floating bar, one of said ends being pivotally connected by a lever with one end. of said floating bar, and the other end being pivotally connected by a lever with another portion of said bar, and the other end of the bar being operatively'connected with said valve, a V-shaped" frame memberpositioned. on each. side of the tube with itsbranches substantially parallel with the branches of the tube, means connecting the apex of the tube with the apexes of the members, both said levers being. fulcrumed in the frame members.

' 5. A feed water regulator comprising. a V-shaped tube, a support for said tube, the. outer ends of thebranches of saidtube-being adapted to beoperatively connected respectively. withthe steam space of. the boiler and the water space of theboiler, the other ends. of; the branches being fixed to said sup ort and communicating with each other, a catinglever, lever means connecting each of the outer ends of the branches with one end portion ofsaid lever at spaced points, and

meansconnecting the other end of said lever with said valve, a V-shaped frame mounted on one side of said tube'and with its branches substantially parallel therewith, the apexes. of the frame and tube being connected togethensaidlever means being fulcrumed 0nthe respective ends'of the frame branches.

. 6.. A boiler system comprising a boiler, a feed Water pipeand a. feed water valve, a feed water regulator comprising a V-shapedthermostatic tube, two

V-shaped framemembers,

the said members being positioned parallel and spaced, with their apeXes and the ends of their arms rigidly connected together, the said tube being positioned between the frame members and parallel therewith, means connecting the apex of the tube connected with the boiler, the valve being connected in said pipe, and means operatively connecting said tube ends with said valve.

7. A boiler system as claimed in claim 6, in which said operatively connecting means are also connected to the ends of the arms of the frame members.

8. A boiler system as claimed in claim 6, in which the ends of the arms of the frame members are rigidly connected with said pipe.

9. A boiler system as claimed in claim 6, in which said operatively connecting means are also connected to the ends of the arms of the frame members, and the ends of the: arms of the frame members are detachably and rigidly connected to said pipe.

10. A feed water regulator comprising a V- shaped tube, a support for said tube, the outer ends of the branches of, said tube being adapted to be operatively connected respectively with the steam space of the boiler and the water space of the boiler, the apex of said tube being fixed to said support, a floating lever, lever means connecting each of the outer ends of the branches with one end portion of said lever at spaced points, and means connecting the other end of said lever with said valve, said support comprising a V-shaped frame mounted on one side of said tube and with its branches substantially parallel therewith, the apexes of the frame and tube being connected together, said lever means being fulcrumed on the respective ends of the frame branches, the floating lever having its valve connected end under the central portion of saidtube. I

. 11. In a boiler system, a thermostatic tube feed water regulator and a feed water valve, means for connecting one portion of said regulator with said valve, a support for said tube, means for connecting another portion of said tube with a point of said support, means acting on said valve connecting means tending to pull said tube away from said support point, and means, operative between said tube and said support point, for allowing said tube to move away from said support point.

12. Boiler system as claimed in claim 6 in which said latter means tend to shift relatively said frame and two apexes, and which includes means for allowing said frame and tube apexes to be shifted relatively.

13. In boiler system a feed water regulator comprising a V-shaped tube, the outer ends of the branches of said tube being adapted to connect respectively with two spaced por-r tions of the boiler of said system, operating means for connecting each of said ends to the feed water valve of the boiler, and a V-shaped frame mounted on one side of said tube with its branches substantially parallel with said tube branches, the apex of said tube being fixed to the apex of said frame.

14. A boiler system comprising a boiler, a feed Water pipe and a feed water valve, a feed water regulator comprising a V-shaped thermostatic tube, two frame members, the said members being positioned parallel and spaced with their respective adjacent ends rigidly connected'together, the said tube being positioned between the frame members and parallel therewith, means rigidly connecting the apex of the tube with one pair of theframe ends, means providing communication between the other ends of the tube and the steam space and the water space of the boiler, the feed water pipe being operatively connected with the boiler, the valve being connected in said pipe, and means operatively connecting said tube ends with said valve and with said frames.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand.

VINCENT V. VEENSCHOT'EN. 

